#639: Dave Keller - It's Time to Shine (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2023 – Tastee Tone Records

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 14, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

With nearly twenty-five years of recording music under his belt, Dave Keller returned to the studios again last fall.  The studio, however, happened to be a friend’s cabin ten miles south of the US/Canadian border nestled in the Adirondacks.  It was there, Keller and his band recorded his tenth album It’s Time to Shine.  This record of all original songs brings joy to me with every listen.  His sophisticated vocals lend an extra layer of finesse to the sleek brand of feel-good soul-blues he masterminds.  With Keller up front on vocals and guitar, he is joined by Ira Friedman on keys, Jay Gleason on drums/percussion, Alex Budney on bass, Mark Earley on sax, Tom Palance on trumpet, and Annika Chambers-DesLauriers on backing vocals.

It’s Time to Shine breaks open with the infectious bassline of “Waiting for the Sunrise”.  A slight Beatles “Come Together” vibe hangs around just out of sight, as cosmic guitar sounds accent Friedman’s steady-rolling keys on this cool-as-hell song.  Keller and company deliver a tight and riveting performance on “The Truth of the Blues”.  The driving rhythm tightly pulls me right in to this wonderful track.  With a suave approach, Keller delivers a soulful, happy love song with “I Wanna Go Back to Memphis”.   Hearing him sing about walking by the river and Beale Street, makes me a little homesick since I grew up about sixty miles from the Bluff City.  Keller digs deep and conjures up his inner-Eric Clapton for “Full Measure of Pleasure”.  Vocally and sonically this song is an absolute gem. 

Keller has a sure-fire hit with It’s Time to Shine. It is a splendid listen from beginning to end with a dozen terrific songs which flow effortlessly from one to the next.                           

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.davekeller.com/

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Dave Keller at :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Dave+Keller

Available from Bandcamp

#601 : GA-20 - Live in Loveland (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Karma Chief

By Phillip Smith; March 18, 2023

Release Date : March. 17, 2023

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

GA-20 ranks right up there among my favorite blues bands playing today.  I have absolutely loved their previous two studio albums, Crackdown, and Does Hound Dog Taylor.  The records are magnificent.  GA-20 has a way of filling every nook and cranny of their music with a timeless vintage sound and raw fearlessness.  Live in Loveland, their first full-length live album, was recorded direct-to-tape on a Tascam 388 in Loveland, Ohio at Plaid Room Records.   It features previously unrecorded tracks along with songs from Crackdown and their 2019 debut album Lonely Soul.  The musical chemistry shared between vocalist/guitarist Pat Faherty, guitarist/producer Matthew Stubbs, and drummer Tim Carman is sheer electric and fortified with true grit.

The album kicks off with a pair of deep-cuts paying homage to Harold Burrage’s “I Cry For You”, and Little Walter’s “My Baby’s Sweeter”.  They transport me through time and space to a smoke-filled juke joint tucked away somewhere in Chicago’s South Side.  “Lonely Soul” is a fireball of a song which clocks in at less than two minutes.  Carman keeps a riveting beat for this blues-meets-surf rock title-track.  I’m happy to see “Dry Run” from Crackdown was included.  That puts a smile on my face.  GA-20 knocks this fifties-era rockabilly original out of the ballpark with Faherty’s suave crooner vocals and Stubbs’ deliciously twangy guitar sounds. 

When I first heard “My Soul”, it took a while for me to process where I had heard this song before.  My experience with this funky track has only been through hearing it countless times from another favorite band of mine Phish.  I had never hunted down the original zydeco version from Clifton Chenier.  I have now though, and whether performed by Chenier, Phish, or GA-20, “My Soul” is a cool song in every case.            

Following in the footsteps of New York punk rockers The Ramones, GA-20 packs a massive amount of energy into a small amount of time.  “Hold it One More Time” is an excellent example.  This previously un-recorded original is a magnificent blues explosion which lasts just a smidge over two minutes.  Live in Loveland comes to a smashing end with lots of cheers when they close the show with “By My Lonesome”.   It’s a stellar song that leaves me wanting hear more after all the dust has settled.  

GA-20 is on my short list of bands I must see.  This recording just makes me want to see them even more.       

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LIVE IN LOVELAND TRACKLIST

1. I Cry For You

2. My Baby's Sweeter

3. Lonely Soul

4. I Let Someone In

5. Dry Run

6. Double Gettin'

7. My Soul

8. Just Because

9. Hold It One More Time

10. Crackin' Up

 

 

For more information about GA-20, visit their website at :  https://ga20band.com

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for GA-20 at :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=GA-20

 

 

#594 > Tas Cru - Riffin' the Blue (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2023 – SubCat Records

By Phillip Smith; Jan. 28, 2023

Release Date : Feb. 3, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Riffin’ the Blue, the latest from New York bluesman Tas Cru, certainly lives up to its name.  The riffs are infectious and deliciously bluesy, making for a fantastic new batch of home-grown originals from Tas.  The album is self-produced and features Tas on vocals and guitar with Mary Ann Casale on backing vocals, Ron Keck on percussion, Bruce Katz on piano/organ, Andy Hearn on drums, and Bob Purdy on bass.  Special guests include Mike Zito, Lenny Milano, and Bill Barry.

With Zito tearing it up with a smoking performance on lead guitar, the album bursts wide open with the title-track “Riffin’ the Blues”.  The organ accompaniment from Barry sounds glorious on this rocking blues shuffle.  A funky beat and a swinging rhythm is the backbone for the rally cry of “Stand Up”.  It’s an absolute favorite which quickly brings me up on my feet.  I love the lush Mark Knopfler-ish tone Tas pulls out of his guitar on “Throw it All Away”.  Tas’ approach to writing and composing often reflect a Warren Zevon kind of style.  “Crazy Getting in My Way” is a fine example of a song which falls into that category.  It’s quite an amazing track.  Riffin’ the Blue concludes with the haunting blues of “Memphis Gone” which showcases the talent of Zito on slide guitar.  The emotion Tas poignantly pours into his vocal and guitar performance is deeply felt.    

Riffin’ the Blue is a brilliant album and is now my favorite release from Tas Cru.  I highly recommend this one. 

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For more information about Tas Cru, visit his website at : https://tascru.com

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Tas Cru at :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=tas+cru

 

 

#587 > Angela Strehli - Ace of Blues (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2022 – Antone’s Records

By Phillip Smith; Dec. 3, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Angela Strehli who helped found Antone’s, the legendary blues venue in Austin, Texas, recently released Ace of Blues, her first album in seventeen years.  Her voice is deep and buttery on this twelve-track recording as she pays tribute to those musicians who were an inspiration to her, such as O.V. Wright, Elmore James, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Little Milton and Otis Clay.  This CD also contains an interesting insert-booklet which contains photographs of those who graced the stage at Antone’s and notes about Stehli’s interactions with those artists.    

When Strehli’s cover of O.V. Wright’s “Ace of Spades” hits my ears, it puts an enormous smile on my face.  It’s downright fantastic.  Muddy Waters’ “I Love the Life I Live” is perfectly seasoned with Mark Kazanoff on harmonica. “Mighty” Mike Schermer’s guitar performance on Otis Rush’s “Gambler’s Blues” is absolutely delectable.  The tones he pulls out of his instrument are brilliant.  I dig the horn accompaniment on this one too.  Howlin’ Wolf is one of my all-time favorites, and Strehli’s recording of “Howlin’ For My Darling” is a wonderful tribute.  Mike Emerson brilliantly brings it on keys as Strehli nails the wolf howls.  As soon as the opening notes of Otis Clay’s “Trying to Live My Life Without You” finds their way out of the speakers, I switch into ‘dance mode’.  Chockful of soul, this one is a definite favorite.  Bringing the album to a close is a song Strehli wrote about her friend the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan.   She befriended Stevie and his brother Jimmy in the earlier years of Antone’s, and her song “SRV“ is a lovely and heartfelt tribute.

Ace of Blues is as solid as a blues album can get.  I hope Angela Strehli doesn’t wait another seventeen years before recording another.                

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#572 > GA-20 - Crackdown (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

GA-20

Crackdown

2022 – Karma Chief Records

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 27, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Last year, I heard GA-20’s attention-snatching tribute to the legendary bluesman Hound Dog Taylor, and I’ve been a fan of theirs ever since.  Consisting of guitarist Matt Stubbs, a fourteen-year veteran of Charlie Musselwhite’s touring band, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman, GA-20 has been a force in the blues arena since 2018.  The trio’s latest record, Crackdown consists of ten all-original tracks seared to perfection with their raw, unbridled approach to the blues, and I absolutely love it.

From the beginning, I’m captivated by the blanket of fuzz and heavy bass forming the ominous landscape of “Fairweather Friend”.  Fueled by a driving rhythm and cast with a vintage sound, the song grabs ahold of me with a tight grip.  GA-20 calls back to the days of Howlin’ Wolf with “Easy on the Eyes”.  Steeped in swampy juke-joint blues and loaded with feral howls, the song is definitely one of my favorites.  The spirit of James Brown is summoned and cast into the funky title-track “Crackdown”.  If one can’t get down to this one, they’ve surely passed on to another plane of existence.  Short, sweet, and clocking in at just a bit over two minutes, “Double Getting”, is another cool-as-hell tune.  With a lively beat, it dances its way through rockabilly, surf-rock, and blues, culminating in retro-rock experience.

GA-20 continues to push the envelope with blues, all-while maintaining a high level of authenticity.  This is a band I really want to catch live.  I know it would be a great experience.    

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For more information about GA-20, visit this website : https://ga20band.com

T

#555 > Ryan Lee Crosby - Winter Hill Blues (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2022 – Ryan Lee Crosby

By Phillip Smith; May 21, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

It was two years ago I first heard Ryan Lee Crosby play at the virtual Juke Joint Fest in Clarksdale, Mississippi.  The annual event was thrown for a spin in 2020 due to Covid 19, so organizers cleverly decided to take the festival online in a virtual sense with free live Facebook streams, and app-driven tip jars.  That was my first time to experience Juke Joint Fest in any capacity, and I was totally captivated.  Crosby’s performance bowled me over with his unique way of playing and his pure blues authenticity.

Produced by the legendary Bruce Watson (R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Robert Belfour), and dedicated to his mentor, the great Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, Winter Hill Blues is a sensational nine-track album of deep-delta acoustic guitar blues.  Eight of those nine tracks are wonderfully-timeless originals penned by Crosby.  Backing Crosby is drummer/percussionist George Sluppick (JJ Grey & Mofro, Chris Robinson), and bassist Mark Edgar Stuart.   

From the beginning notes of “I’m Leaving”, I’m onboard.  I love how Sluppick’s freight-train beat kicks in and Stuart’s bass notes penetrate right to the bone.  Crosby impressively woos me on guitar, declaring “Well I’m gonna leave ya child, I’m gonna leave when the morning comes”.  His genteel delivery of title-track “Winter Hill Blues” is beautifully executed.  There’s a definite Skip James energy surrounding this one, and it sounds wonderful.  The swirling hypnotic rhythm on “Down So Long” pert near puts me in a North Mississippi trance, and I enjoy it immensely.   Continuing along Bentonia blues tradition with songs about the devil, Crosby’s “Was it the Devil” is a poignant and reflective song about his mother’s passing.  Here he sings “It was the devil who made her do that thing, but it was the lord who gave her angel’s wings”.  He takes a hard look at the institutions we are most familiar with in his hard-driving blues anthem “Institution Blues”, and finds a hidden purpose of systematic control when he takes a peek behind the curtains.  The song could’ve been written at anytime within the past hundred years, but its words are ageless.  The album closes with a robust cover of Rev. Robert Wilkins’ “Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down”.  The slide guitar on this track is absolutely fabulous.

Winter Hill Blues is a wonderful album of traditional blues and it deserves all the future accolades it will receive.        

 

 

 

For more information about Ryan Lee Crosby, visit this website :  https://ryanleecrosby.com

 

 

 

Ryan Lee Crosby on Bandcamp

PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com #550 > Eliza Neals - Badder to the Bone

 

2022 – E-H Records

By Phillip Smith; April 9, 2022 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Eliza Neals is an artist who consistently delivers album after album of solidly-written, exquisitely performed blues-rock.  Badder to the Bone marks my fourth album from Neals which I have made a point to review, and the title is very much on the mark.  She is a total badass in the music world, and this album is indeed badder to the bone.  With Neals on lead vocals, piano, and B3, the other musicians on this record are Lance Lopez ( SuperSonic Blues Machine, Lucky Peterson) and Billy ‘JC’ Davis (Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Jimi Hendrix) on guitar, Peter Keys (Lynyrd Skynyrd) on B3+200A, Jason Kott ( Robert Randolph) and Paul Randolph ( Alice Cooper, Mudpuppy) on bass, Tim Grogan, Skeeto Valdez, Brian Clune, and Jeffrey “Shakey” Fowlkes ( Too Slim) on drums, Michael Puwal ( Kenny Wayne Shepherd) on guitar+bass, and Kimberli Wright on backing vocals.        

Fowlkes’ high-octane beat and Puwal’s swampy slide guitar heats things up quite nicely as Neals takes charge vocally on a call for unity in “United We Stand”.  She then follows up with an intoxicating dose of slow buttery blues featuring a searing guitar solo from Lopez on “Queen of the Nile”.  It’s an extraordinary listen.  “Lockdown Love” is a great song too.  With Fowlkes and Puwal onboard, this red-hot track shares the frustrations of dealing with stress while living inside a covid-constructed bubble.  Cloaked in a Sixties-mod fashion, “I Got a Gun”, featuring Billy Davis on guitar, is catchy as hell.  When Quentin Tarantino finally gets around to filming Kill Bill 3, this song would be a perfect fit for the soundtrack.  The gospel-soul-inspired “Heathen” is a beautiful piece with a Muscle Shoals vibe about taking out the trash.  I love how Neals’ piano performance is coupled with Galvin behind the B3.   I absolutely adore her cover of Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home”.  Neals takes this 1969 classic and breathes into it a new glorious life with Lopez at the guitar helm absolutely tearing it up.  When he plays, notes majestically hang in the air. 

I can’t help but be a huge fan of Eliza Neals.  Her approach to the Blues is a fresh and unique one.  I thoroughly enjoyed “Badder to the Bone” from start to finish.  It’s chockful of badassery for sure.        

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Other PhillyCheeze reviews featuring Eliza Neals:

 

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2017/04/eliza-neals-10000-feet-below.html

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2019/07/401-eliza-neals-sweet-or-mean.html

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2020/05/444-eliza-neals-black-crow-moan.html

 

 

 

 

For more information about Eliza Neals, visit this website :  elizaneals.com

 

Available on BandCamp

PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com #549 > Hurricane Ruth - Live at 3rd and Lindsley

 

2022 – Hurricane Ruth Records

By Phillip Smith; April 2, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Live at 3^rd and Lindsley, the sixth and most recent album from Ruth LaMaster aka Hurricane Ruth lands a ferocious punch with a fistful of raw, hearty blues.  This fourteen-track gem was recorded at 3^rd and Lindsley in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by two-time Grammy winner Tom Hambridge.  It features Scott Holt and Nick Nguyen on guitar, Calvin Johnson on bass, Lewis Stephens on keys, with Hambridge also behind the drums.  Jimmy Hall makes a guest appearance on a couple of songs as well.

With a wall of rhythm, and searing guitar behind her, Hurricane Ruth leads the album off in a fierce way with “Roll Little Sister” which originally appeared on her 2012 release Power of the Blues ... Feels Like a Hurricane.  “Dirty Blues”, which was one of my favorites off her 2020 album Good Life, is hot and slathered with lots of swampy slide.  I love the cover of Peppermint Harris’ “As the Years Go Passing By” with Jimmy Hall’s fantabulous harp performance and accompanying vocals.   I can almost feel the magic which was happening onstage when this was recorded.  Hall shares his talent for one more song, “Make Love to Me”, originally on Hurricane Ruth’s Born on the River album.  This, paired with the prior song, makes for a nice scorching two-fer of red, hot blues.  LaMaster ends the show with a song she wrote for her mama, “Dance Dance Norma Jean”.  Holt injects a ZZ-Top-sized lightning bolt of electricity into this John Lee Hooker-inspired boogie for a jaw-dropping experience.  It absolutely cooks.           

Hurricane Ruth’s Live at 3^rd and Lindsley is as solid as they come for live blues albums.  It’s the real deal, that’s for sure.       

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For more information about Hurricane Ruth or to purchase music, visit the website :  https://www.hurricaneruth.com

#537 : Bernard Allison - Highs & Lows

 

2022 – Ruf Records

By Phillip Smith; Jan. 15, 2022

 

Bernard Allison is one of those artists who I totally admire, and I’m absolutely thrilled to hear fresh music from him.  Highs & Lows, his latest album is hands-down fantastic.  Produced by Grammy Award winner Jim Gaines, this eleven-track blues album is a slice of perfection.  The core of Allison’s top-notch band consists of George Moye on bass guitar, Dylan Salfer on rhythm guitar and Steve Potts on drums.

Energy levels are high as Allison fearlessly hits the ground running on “So Excited”.  It’s great to hear him blaze full-throttle on guitar.  This is exactly what I was hoping for on an opening song.  Title-track “Highs & Lows” rolls out with its funky, infectious riff and pulls me right in.  Guitar in hand, Canadian blues artist Colin James joins Allison in a juicy duet of Texas-style electric blues on “My Way or the Highway”.  The swampy sounds of the Mississippi delta are quite infused into “Side Step”, making it one of my favorite songs on the disc.  What a pleasant surprise it is to hear Bobby Rush accompany Allison on “Hustler”.  His distinctive voice and harp playing are delivered in his usual suave approach and it’s fun to hear him collaborate with Allison. 

I love that Allison pays tribute to his father, Chicago blues legend Luther Allison by recording two of his songs.  The first up is the 1974 single “Now You Got It” off the album Luther’s Blues.  This is Seventies soul-blues at its best.  Immediately following is “Gave it All”, from Luther’s 1994 album Soul Fixin’ Man.  It swoops me right up in its cozy warm arms for an intoxicating horn-infused listen.  Allison's performance on this is downright breathtaking.

Lows & Highs ends with a blast of funky downhome blues with “Last Night”.  Lyrically timeless, this song hits on every cylinder, and I dig every bit of it.  Allison pours everything he has into this guitar performance, making it a huge standout. 

This is an album that delivers the goods with each and every song.  It’s terrific through and through.       

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 For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://bernardallison.com

 

Past PhillyCheeze reviews featuring Bernard Allison :

PhillyCheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews: #313 : Bernard Allison - Let it Go (phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com)

 

PhillyCheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews: #347 : Czech Village Blues - Aug 11, 2018 featuring Ruf Record's Blues Caravan (phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com)

#531 : Willie Jackson - All in the Blues

 

2021 – Willie Jackson

By Phillip Smith; Dec. 11, 2021

Hailing from Savannah, Georgia, Willie Jackson, the son of a reverend, had worked for the railroad until an accident ended that career.  It was then he decided to dedicate his time on his music and the Blues.  Jackson’s brand-new album All in the Blues, follows up quite nicely to his debut 2017 EP release Willie Jackson Blues.  His lyrical mastery and deep velvety vocals quickly grabbed my attention upon the first listen of this twelve-track album.  Carrying a torch for the early post-war blues songs and cleverly utilizing the literary tool of the double entendre, Jackson is a true wordsmith.   

The album opens with “I’m Your Landlord” in which Lomax Spalding lays down a funky groove on guitar while Jackson sings about alternative methods of collecting rent.  Jackson keeps the humor in his music as “The Whole Book is Wet” follows up.  This horn-infused song about wet matches is definitely not about camping mishaps.  A hot rhythm section keeps the party going as Jackson shoos away would-be suiters from his woman on “Sticky Hand Blues”.  “Hey Gangsta” takes a more serious turn, as Jackson sings about settling up with his daughter’s violent-prone boyfriend.  This song absolutely swings with a full band and Trosky Lane’s smokin’ guitar performance.

With one foot firmly planted in the past and one tethered to the now, Willie Jackson’s All in the Blues is one-hundred percent real-deal Blues.     

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://williejacksonblues.com

 

#526 : Corey Harris - The Insurrection Blues

 

2021 – M.C. Records

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 31, 2021

Recorded in Atri, Italy in the early months of COVID shutdowns, Insurrection Blues the twentieth release from Corey Harris, marks his first record for M.C. Records.  Harris keeps this recording a solo-effort which features just him and his acoustic guitar, making for a beautiful and intimate listening experience.  This fifteen-track album is a really nice mix of deep blues covers, traditional songs, and original pieces.

From the first song “Twelve Gates to the City”, Harris has my full attention.  I love the tone of his guitar as he performs this spiritual traditional.  His cover of Charlie Patton’s “Some of These Days” is a pure delight.  Harris suavely slips into troubadour mode, breathing new life to “When Did You Leave Heaven”, the song which launched Tony Martin’s career as a recording artist in 1936.  His velvety vocals on this track are backed by guest Lino Mugio on mandolin.  Harris performs the instrumental “Toubaka” with an elegant grace.  I really like “Mama Africa” too.  This original has flavors which remind me of Led Zeppelin.  The trance-friendly groove of Skip James’ “Special Rider” is fabulously intoxicating.  With a Robbie Kriegler-like guitar approach, Harris instills a Doors vibe into title-track “Insurrection Blues”.  Harris’ affinity for the classics shines brightly as he pays tribute to Blind Blake on a couple of tracks: “You Gonna Quit Me Baby” and “That Will Never Happen No More”.  

We need an album like Insurrection Blues every once in a while, to remind us of where the blues began.  I can certainly see this one grabbing an award for best traditional blues.                              

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 For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.coreyharris.net/

 

#524 : Larkin Poe & Nu Deco Ensemble - Paint the Roses

 

2021 – Tricki-Woo Records

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 23, 2021

I’m always excited to hear about new music from Larkin Poe.  I’ve been a fan of this duo since hearing them open for Elvis Costello at the Paramount Theater in Cedar Rapids, Iowa five years ago.  The original songs Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell write are beautiful, sometimes intense, and cut deep to the bone.  Lead vocalist/guitarist Rebecca captivates me with her beautiful, yet fearless voice.  The vocal harmony she shares with lap-steel wizard Megan is magical.

Paint the Roses is a seven-track release which Larkin Poe recorded live at the North Beach Bandshell in Miami, Florida on December 12, 2020 with the orchestral backing of Nu Deco Ensemble.  Once I heard their new take on Bessie Jones’ “Sometimes” which also appears on their 2018 Venom & Faith album, I knew I was in for a real treat.  The infusion of clapping hands, strings, and horns took me to church in a big way.  Next up on the track list is “Back Down South” an original off their 2020 album Self Made Man.  Megan’s lap slide is performed with perfect precision as Rebecca rips it up on guitar and delivers the song with her enchanting voice.  It sounds fantastic with the enrichment of the Nu Deco Ensemble as the song takes a dip into the Allman’s “Blue Sky” for a brief intermission.  Before diving into a four-track superfecta of songs, all off Self Made Man, Larkin Poe introduces a new song called “Mad as a Hatter”, which I absolutely adore.  The pulse of this homage to Alice in Wonderland runs with a rapid pace, and dips momentarily into psychedelic territory.  “Every Bird That Flies” is such a beautiful song, and surely earns its wings with the accompaniment from the ensemble.  I love the slow build-up of tension accomplished with the instrumentation, which is then then slowly released to send the song skyward.  Larkin Poe closes out the show in an amazing performance of “She’s a Self Made Man”.  Cloaked in a horn-laden suit, this hard blues-rocker is a perfect fit for a future 007 theme song.  

I knew I would like Paint the Roses, but I was surprised at just how much I liked it.  This is surely a record folks will want to add to their collection.         

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 For more information about the artist, visit this website : www.larkinpoe.com

#520 : Memphissippi Sounds - Welcome to the Land

 

2021 – Little Village Foundation

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 3, 2021

 

Memphissippi Sounds, a duo comprised of Damion Pearson (vocals, harmonica, guitar) and Cam Kimbrough (vocals, drums, guitar), brings to the table, a unique spin on the North Mississippi Hill Country Blues.  In his youth, Pearson quickly latched onto the sounds of his father’s record collection which consisted of the likes of Parliament/Funkadelic and the Ohio Players.  He picked up the blues from listening to Memphis’s WDIA radio where B.B. King and Rufus Thomas both got their start in radio.  Kimbrough, the grandson of blues great Junior Kimbrough grew up surrounded by blues, but also had a taste for bands such as Metallica, System of a Down, Nirvana, and Incubus.  When Pearson and Kimbrough joined forces to play music together, they zeroed in on the hill-country blues which they quickly discovered fit them like a glove.  Welcome to the Land, the duo’s first album was recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis and produced by Aki Kumar, with Jim Pugh serving as executive producer.       

This fascinating nine-track album of all-originals begins with “Who’s Gonna Ride”, a social commentary which absolutely tears the roof off as it touches on subjects such as George Floyd, BLM, and the pandemic.  Fortified with a rolling swampy funk, Pearson lays down a smoking performance on harp.  A furious beat and infectious rhythm combine forces in “I’m Mad”, and it sounds great.  Pearson’s hypnotic guitar riff rides along a mesmerizing performance from Kimbrough to soulfully invoke the essence of the band War, in the “Crossroads”.  I love how their vocals play off each other in this one.  Sometimes one just can’t wait for an afternoon delight, and “Saturday Morning” is when things go down in the bedroom.  This hill-country groove is perfectly executed.  Immediately following, the relaxed propulsion of “High & Low” gently immerses me inside its muddy, tranquil musicscape, and it feels wonderful.  The album closes with “Look Out for the Wolf”, a song which seems to call back to the early days of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.  It’s a spectacular blues song to say the least.  

Memphissippi Sounds’ Welcome to the Land is a record blues fans will damn sure want to hear.   It’s fantastic!        

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.memphissippisounds.com/

 

#517 : Tom Craig - Good Man Gone Bad

2021 – 8^th Train Records

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 11, 2021

 

In the making of Good Man Gone Bad, Tom Craig states his goal for the album was to make it 100% blues.  He definitely succeeded.  This collection of thirteen all-original songs was recorded at Buckeye Recording in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and produced by harp-master Mikey Junior.  It has a natural flow from beginning to end, giving the listener an enhanced album-oriented experience.  With Craig on guitar and vocals, his band is comprised of Dave Gross on bass guitar, Vin Mott on drums, Eric Johnson on Hammond organ and Mikey Junior on harmonica.   

The record opens with Craig’s blue-collar, working-class love song called “Working Too Hard”.  This infectious track is loaded with hot guitar licks and Junior’s blistering harp playing.  It’s a terrific song.  It rolls quite nicely right into “What a Man’s Gotta Do”, which wins me over with its cool beatnik rhythm and twangy guitar tone.  Craig’s vocals are velvety smooth as he sings “It’s All My Fault”.  This slow, bluesy ballad is perfectly crafted from beginning to end.  It’s a genuine blast to rock out to “Sheepdog”.  I enjoy the Z.Z. Top Texas-blues vibe.  Craig lays the facts on the line in “When You Love a Blues Man” as he masterfully serves up another delicious platter of smoldering blues.  The funky groove woven through “Headhunter” is absolutely fabulous.  It lures me in like a moth to a flame.  A tantalizing concoction of funk, soul, and blues is crafted into the framework of “I Like Soul in My Blues”.  Sung with a polished voice and topped with horns, it’s positively a delightful listen.

I’ve been a fan of Tom Craig’s since reviewing his 2017 album Get Ready For Me.  His talent runs deep, as does my appreciation for his music.  Good Man Gone Bad is a gem of an album.  Blues fans will surely want to hear this one.     

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : tomcraigband.com